Combined Forces Capture Taliban Leaders in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2012 — A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion secu­ri­ty force cap­tured two Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tors and detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent in the Khugyani dis­trict of Afghanistan’s Nan­garhar province today, mil­i­tary offi­cials report­ed.

The facil­i­ta­tors dis­trib­uted weapons and sup­plies to insur­gent fight­ers and coor­di­nat­ed attacks through­out the dis­trict. The secu­ri­ty force con­fis­cat­ed mul­ti­ple weapons dur­ing the operation.

In oth­er news in Afghanistan today:

— In Hel­mand province’s Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict, a com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban leader who direct­ed the place­ment of road­side bombs and coor­di­nat­ed attacks against coali­tion forces. The force also seized about 10 pounds of hashish.

— An Afghan-led and coali­tion-sup­port­ed secu­ri­ty force in Khost province’s Bak dis­trict cap­tured a Haqqani net­work leader and detained mul­ti­ple sus­pect­ed insur­gents. The leader dis­trib­uted bomb-mak­ing mate­ri­als, plant­ed road­side explo­sives and orga­nized insur­gent fight­ers for attacks against Afghan forces. The secu­ri­ty force also con­fis­cat­ed weapons.

— In War­dak province’s Maid­an Shahr dis­trict, a com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor who plant­ed road­side bombs and acquired ammu­ni­tion and bomb-mak­ing mate­ri­als for insur­gent fighters.

In Afghanistan yesterday:

— A com­bined force in Kan­da­har province’s Pan­jwai dis­trict found 5,500 pounds of mar­i­jua­na and 3,410 pounds of hashish. Some of the drugs were con­fis­cat­ed as evi­dence and the rest were destroyed at the scene with­out incident.

— In Kan­da­har province’s Mai­wand dis­trict, a com­bined force con­fis­cat­ed about 398 pounds of mar­i­jua­na and 16 home­made-bomb com­po­nents. The drugs and com­po­nents will be destroyed at a lat­er date.

— In Kandahar’s Pan­jwai dis­trict, a com­bined force con­fis­cat­ed five impro­vised explo­sive devices, var­i­ous IED-mak­ing com­po­nents and about 44 pounds of home­made explo­sives. The weapons will be destroyed at a lat­er date.

— A com­bined force cap­tured two Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tors in Kandahar’s Mai­wand dis­trict. The facil­i­ta­tors dis­trib­uted weapons, coor­di­nat­ed the move­ment of insur­gent fight­ers, and planned and con­duct­ed attacks against coali­tion forces.

— In Kandahar’s Gho­rak dis­trict, a com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor and detained two addi­tion­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents. The facil­i­ta­tor financed the pur­chase of explo­sives and dis­trib­uted bomb-mak­ing mate­ri­als to insur­gents for use in attacks against coali­tion forces. The force also seized about 15 pounds of heroin.

— A com­bined force Pak­tia province’s Zur­mat dis­trict cap­tured a Haqqani facil­i­ta­tor and detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent. The facil­i­ta­tor con­duct­ed attacks against coali­tion forces. The secu­ri­ty force also con­fis­cat­ed weapons and bomb-mak­ing materials.

— In Nan­garhar province’s Surkh Rod dis­trict, a com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor who direct­ed a group of insur­gent fight­ers in mul­ti­ple attacks against Afghan forces. The force also detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent and seized var­i­ous weapons and bomb-mak­ing materials.

— A com­bined force in Log­ar province’s Pul‑e Alam dis­trict cap­tured a Haqqani leader and detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents. The leader coor­di­nat­ed attacks against Afghan forces and pro­cured weapons and bomb-mak­ing mate­ri­als for insur­gent fighters.

In oth­er operations:

In Hel­mand province’s Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict, a com­bined force dis­cov­ered and destroyed six IEDs, six anti-per­son­nel mines and two jugs filled with home­made explo­sives Jan. 7.

— A com­bined force in Nan­garhar province’s Khugyani dis­trict con­fis­cat­ed 880 pounds of explo­sive mate­ri­als Jan. 7. They will be destroyed at a lat­er date. The force also detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents dur­ing the operation.

— In Khost province’s Sabari dis­trict, a com­bined force con­fis­cat­ed six mor­tar rounds, 13 recoil­less rifles and 19 grenades Jan. 7. The weapons will be destroyed at a lat­er date.

— A com­bined force cap­tured a senior Tal­iban net­work facil­i­ta­tor named Mashahud dur­ing a secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion in Nangarhar’s Surkh Rod dis­trict Jan. 1. Mashahud is a well-known weapons facil­i­ta­tor who planned large-scale attacks against the local pop­u­lace through­out the region. He also has been linked to a Dec. 21 bomb attack that killed five peo­ple in Ghazni. 

Source:
Com­piled from Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force Joint Com­mand News Releases 

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